NAS/POLS 480: American Indian Politics and Governments

Dr. Franke Wilmer
Iowa State University

The self-governing indigenous peoples of North America have been engaged in a continuing effort to adapt their economic, social, and political systems in light of changes brought by two to four centuries of contact and conquest. This course surveys and evaluates the problems and prospects for governance among primarily Indian* political communities at three levels: in relation to American politics; as indigenous peoples within the international political community; and in their efforts to develop viable and effective local governments in exercise of self-determination.

The course is divided into three parts, based on the above schema. The first section addresses the basic framework within which indigenous politics currently functions in relation to the United States Federal government. Topics covered include: a history of federal policy from the perspective of its impact on indigenous peoples; the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and the creation of new "tribal" governments; political activism and current legal issues bearing on the relationship between the federal and governments.

The second part of the course considers the evolution of American Indian politics in the context of the world community. We will review the international norms of colonization and conquest that were operative among European powers at the time of European contact with indigenous peoples, and the contemporary norms of self-determination, decolonization and human rights that are frequently in conflict with the patterns of Indian-white relationship established during the earlier period. Current activities in the United Nations directed toward the development of international standards for indigenous rights are also considered.

Finally, the course examines the contemporary problems of, and similarities and differences among the political problems confronting indigenous communities. We will examine the contemporary problems of self-government in three sets of issues: politics, economics. and culture/identity.

*Note on terminology: Some indigenous peoples think of their political and social community in terms of a "nation" and others in terms of a "tribe." Accordingly, I try to use the phrase "nation(s) or tribe(s) whenever possible. It is always preferable to refer to indigenous peoples of a tribe or nation by the name used by the people themselves (Cheyenne, Absalooka/Crow; Pikuni/Blackfeet, Kahnienkehaka/Mohawk, Inuit, Lakota, for example). To consider the issues common to indigenous peoples in their relations with nonindigenous peoples, we will have to use generalizable terms. "Indigenous" and "aboriginal" refer to people descended from original inhabitants of a place, and these terms will be used for international and comparative purposes. I will generally avoid the term "Native American," although frequently used by academics in recent decades, (and the rubric used by our center and university) because it can be applied to any person born in the Americas. "Indian" refers to the indigenous peoples of subarctic North America, and "Inuit" to the indigenous peoples of the circumpolar region. (Thanks to Gerald Alfred for his thoughts on this.)

Requirements

Final grades are determined by your performance on two essay (take-home) exams, one paper and class participation as follows

Exam I 25 %

Paper 30%

Exam Il 30%

Participation 15%

Participation includes not only reading the assignment before coming to class, and contributing to class discussion, but you will also be assigned to orally report on specific readings. You must read, discuss and develop a brief in class summary of an assigned reading.

The paper: Choose a topic related to the subject of federal Indian policy or tribal government policies, such as religious freedom, gaming, criminal jurisdiction on reservations, Indian education, self-determination, economic development, energy and natural resource management, community mental health, etc. Describe how the issue was first identified as a problem, how a policy was developed and implemented, and what the effects have been. Make suggestions for improvement. Paper length: 10-15 pages. Bibliography and outline due at the end of week three.

Texts: Required:

Oren Lyons, John Mohawk, Vine Deloria, Jr. et. al. 1992. Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers .

Franke Wilmer. 1993. The Indigenous Voice in World Politics: Since Time Immemorial.

Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publishers.

READINGS ON 2HR RESERVE in the Library. One set available per 15 students.

Optional: Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt, ed. 1992. What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and lnstitutions in American Indian Economic Development. Los Angeles: University of California. Akwesasne Notes. 1978. Basic Call to Consciousness. Rooseveltown, NY: Akwesasne Notes.

Course Outline

Part I American Indians and American Democracy

WEEK ONE:

Indians Had Democracies a Long Time: What did Indian politics and government look like before the arrival of Europeans? How did images of the indigenous peoples' world views influence the development of American democracy and politics?

Assigned Readings: Lyons, Mohawk, Deloria et. al. Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 6.

Films: "Ray Fadden Speaks: They Lied to You in School," and "Oren Lyons: The Great Law of Peace."

WEEK TWO:

The Legal Framework for Relations: How did international law influence the early relationship of the Europeans to the indigenous peoples of the Americas? What is the constitutional basis for the relationship between the American government and American Indians? What is meant by "congressional plenary power?" (about 2 weeks)

Assigned Readings: Lyons, Mohawk, Deloria et.al. Chapters 4, 5, 7 and 8.

FIRST TAKE-HOME ESSAY at the end of week two, due Tuesday of week three.

Part II Indigenous Peoples in World Politics

WEEK THREE:

Overview: The international political activism of indigenous peoples.

Assigned Reading Wilmer, Chapter 1.

The Colonization and Conquest of Indigenous Peoples: European culture as the normative basis for the mobilization of the world system, and how nonEuropean peoples and world views were excluded from the process. How Eurocentrism informed the history of U.S. relations with indigenous peoples. (about 2 weeks)

Assigned Readings: Wilmer, Chapters 2, 3 and 4

Film: "In the Image of the White Man"

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OUTLINE for paper due at the end of week three.

WEEK FOUR:

International Political Activism of Indigenous Peoples and its Effect on World Politics: What indigenous activists want and how they are getting it. How did international norms shift from the conquest to the self-determination of indigenous peoples? What does world politics look like from the indigenous perspective? (about 2 weeks)

Assigned Readings: Wilmer, Chapters 5, 6 and 7.

SECOND TAKE-HOME ESSAY at the end of week four, due Tuesday of week five.

Part 111 Indian Politics and Governments Today

WEEK FIVE:

Red Power Politics:

Assigned Readings:

Bahr, Howard M., Bruce Chadwick and Robert C. Day, "Red Power, Action Programs, and the Future, " from Bahr, Chadwick and Day, ed. Native Americans Today: Sociological Perspectives. New York: Harper and Row.

Day, Robert C. 1972. "The Emergence of Activism as a Social Movement," from Howard M. Bahr, Bruce A. Chadwick and Robert C. Day, Native Americans Today: Sociological Perspectives. New York: Harper and Row.

Deloria, Vine Jr. 1970. "This Country Was a Lot Better Off when the Indians Were Running It," New York Times Magazine, 8 March 1970.

Film: "Thunderheart," "Broken Treaty II," and "Russell Means: MSU Awareness Week. "

Clemmer, Richard O. 1986. "Hopis, Western Shoshones, and Southern Utes: Three Different Responses to the Indian Reorganization Act," American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2.

Jorgensen, Joseph G. 1986. "Federal Policies, American Indian Polities and the 'New Federalism."' American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2.

1986. "Sovereignty and the Structure of Dependency at Northern Ute," American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2.

Alfred, Gerald. 1991. "From Bad to Worse: Internal Politics in the 1990 Crisis at Kahnawake," Northeast Indian Quarterly, Volume VIII, Number 1.

Economic Issues:

LaDuke, Winona. 1992. "Indigenous Environmental Perspectives: A North American Primer," Akweikon Journal, Volume IX, No. 2, Summer

Mohawk, John. 1992. "Indian Economic Development: the U.S. Experience of an Evolving Indian Sovereignty," Akweikon Journal, Volumer IX, No. 2, Summer 1992.

Snipp, C. Matthew. 1986. "The Changing Political and Economic Status of the American Indians: From Captive Nations to Internal Colonies," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol 45, No. 2.

Sandra FaimanSilva. 1993. "Decolonizing the Choctaw Nation: Choctaw Political Economy in the Twentieth Century." American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Volume 17, Number 2.

Stoffle, Richard W. Michael J. Evans. 1988. "American Indians and Nuclear Waste Storage: the Debate at Yucca Mountain, Nevada." Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 16, No. 4, Summer.

Wilmer, Franke. 1994. Indian Gaming: Players and Stakes. Bozeman, MT: Local

Government Center.

Culture and Identity:

Alfred, Gerald A. 1991. "From Bad to Worse: Internal Politics in the 1990 Crisis at Kahnawake," Northeast Indian Quarterly, Volume VIII, Number 1.

Cornell, Stephen, 1988. "Transformations of tribe: organization and self-concept in Native American Identities." Ethnic and Racial Studies Volume 11, Number 1.

Cornell, Stephen. 1988. "The Politics of Indianness," from Cornell, The Return of the Native: American Indian Political Resurgence. New York: Oxford University Press.

Jaimes, M. Annette. 1988. "Federal Indian Identification Policy: A Usurpation of Indigenous Sovereignty in North America," Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 16, No. 4, Summer.